Treating cellulosic fiber



Patented Sept. 2c, 1938 r 2,130,460

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE 130,460 TREATING OELLULOSIC FIBER John Gwynant Evans, Blackley, and Sidney Arthur Slater, Stretford, England, assignors to Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, a corporation of Great Britain No Drawing. Application March 23, 1936, Serial No. 70,548. In Great Britain March 25, 1935 4 Claims. (CL 19-66) It is known that certain difficulties are en- The following example illustrates but does not countered in the spinning of staple fiber, that is limit the invention. The parts are by weight. fiber composed of short lengths of viscose, acetate and similar rayon, into yarnowing to the tend- 7 Example of the fibers to Shp when bfamg twlsted' Staple viscose fiber is treated for 16 minutes at 5 Similar, though less pronounced difficulties are 450 C in 1000 parts of water containing 10 parts met with in the spinning of the smoother cell'uof a x'nixture or emulsion consisting losic fibers such as flax and ramie or in the spinning of short staple cotton fiber such as some Part3 10 kinds of Indian cotton, which in order to obtain Glue 250 10 a commercially useful thread, have to be spun Cetyl sodium sulphate 5 with a considerable amount of twist. coloph ny 330 It is an object of the present invention to avoid a stic od flakes"; 35 or minimize these difliculties. It is a further Salicylic acid /2 l5 object to produce spun thread of improved prop- Water 1, 425

erties. It is a further object to produce new and useful compositions of matter other objects After treatment the material is centrifuged and will beco apparent as th description dried. The fiber is then spun in the normal ceeds. manner and owing to the increased adherence I W carry t our invention by treating e11u between the fibers, a yarn of increased strength 20 losic fiber of whatever origin, whether natural with a given twist results Short t ple ott n or artificial or composed of pure cellulose or of fiber, flax and ramie fiber m y m a y cellulose derivatives, with a solution or emulsion treated in Order to improve then SDlnnlng q a of colophony. ties. It is known to treat rayon fabric, i. e. already We clalmi 25 woven material, with resin acids or alkali metal The p s which COmPIISBS t e t n salts of resin acids to produce on the surface of Staple cellulosic fibers with a solution the-component threads a deposit which imparts confiammg a small amoun? of colophony cetyl to it a non-displacement finish (see British spec- Sodlum Sulphate and caustlc Sodaification 388,157) but it was not to have been ex- Staple Qenulosic fibers prodlced by the 30 pected from anything disclosed in that specifica- Process of clalm tion that treatment of fiber according to the The Process which compnses treatmgpresent invention would facilitate its spinning as Smooth Staple filaments of a chemically modified above mentioned or indeed that such treatment cellulose taken from the class consisting of WS- would not impede spinning or make it jmp ssjbla cose and cellulose acetate with a solution obtained 35 Our preferred method of applying the coloby mlxlng phony is from an aqueous solution or emulsion Parts dissolved or emulsified by means of alkali in con- Glue 250 junction with other assistants used in textile Cetyl sodium sulphate 75 treatments, more especially softening agents, ancolophony 330 40 tiseptics, stiffening agents, weighting agents. Caustic soda 35 The fiber is immersed in a suitable solution until' Salicylic acid 7. 5 permeated, excess solution removed and the fiber Water 1, 425

dried. There is thus obtained a new composition of matter, namely unspun cellulosic fiber attached of Water to colophony and any assistant which may have been employed in conjunction with colophony. l sgaple fibers obtamed by the Process Q This improved composition possesses improved calm properties, whether in the unspun or spun con- O GWYNANT EVANS. i0 dition, as compared with ordinary fiber, as has SIDNEY AR'I'HUR SLATER. 5

been described.

and adding 10 parts of the mixture to 1000 parts 45 

